Professor Nathaniel Zib
Professor Nathaniel Zib is one of Hero Factory's most experienced Mission Managers. Biography Zib has been working in the Hero Factory for seven years. He is in control of several Hero Factory Teams, including Alpha 1. Zib monitored the trial mission of William Furno, an assignment to guard a shipment of C-4000 explosives bound for Merak 9, that was attacked by XPlode and Rotor. Afterward, Akiyama Makuro approached Zib and spoke to him about Furno's potential. Shortly thereafter, the Call Center hot-line received a report that the Lemus 2 Explosives Plant was under attack. Zib noted that Preston Stormer, William Furno, Natalie Breez, and Mark Surge were the only Heroes in the sector, and sent them down to save the explosives. Stormer was felled, but Furno managed to capture Rotor and drive off XPlode. After Furno and Stormer delivered Rotor to prison, Zib sent Furno to recharge his Hero Core. A call came in from Penitentiary 1331 on Tantalus 5, reporting Corroder's attack on the construction site. Zib sent Dunkan Bulk and Jimi Stringer, along with Breez and Surge, to the scene. However, Bulk wound up pinned under a load of girders, and the situation looked grim. Zib considered sending many different Heroes before he decided on Furno - against Stormer's protests. Zib sent Furno to see Big Joe and be refitted with acid-resistant armor, which allowed him to take out Corroder and save Bulk. Zib later received a distress call from Chief Drax, and sent Stormer and the rookies to Mekron City. There, Meltdown attacked and poisoned Stormer. After the Heroes' return to Makuhero City, Zib diagnosed that both Drax and Stormer had been infected with nanobots that would override their systems. Stormer then went berserk, assaulting Zib and escaping into the city. Zib began work on a code to immobilize the nanobots, but a required ingredient was only found on Lunar Tratix. Breez, Stringer, Bulk, and Surge were sent to retrieve it, meanwhile Zib allowed Furno to go after Stormer, though he had two Hero Teams on stand-by. Furno managed to subdue Stormer and bring him back to be cured. The Alpha Team was later called to New Stellac City to investigate a meteor crater. They were soon attacked by Corroder and Thunder. Meanwhile, Zib argued with the Rookies, who were training with their Anti-Gravity Thruster Rings inside Mission Control. Zib's equipment picked up strange readings from Thunder's weapon as he used it upon the team. Zib then lost communications with the team, and eventually decided to send the Rookies after them. Zib gave each of the Rookies a Particle Separator before they left, which later saved their lives. After the Alpha Team was defeated at Tanker Station 22, Zib was called in for a meeting between he, Stormer, and Akiyama Makuro. Stormer demanded that he, along with Furno and Breez, should be upgraded to better combat the Fire Villains. Both Zib and Mr. Makuro were initially unsure as the process wasn't yet complete, though they eventually gave in after noting their commitment in saving Surge. Zib watched over the newly upgraded Heroes in Virtual Training when they were trying to adapt to their new bodies, and were soon rolled out. Shortly after they were launched, Zib sent Nex and Evo as backup. After Fire Lord's defeat, the Heroes returned with Surge and Zib upgraded him as well. Zib later received a call from the exiled professor Aldous Witch, who claimed he had crash-landed on the planet Quatros. He contacted the rookie hero Daniel Rocka and requested he waited for a full hero team, but Rocka disobeyed and they lost contact. Zib then sent Stormer, Furno, Bulk, Stringer and Nex after Rocka with a new Upgrade. They soon realized Aldous Witch had transformed into the Witch Doctor and was stealing Quaza. Zib and Quadal directed them to the Quaza Temple and then confirmed that if they didn't return the Quaza, the planet would perish with everyone on it. Bulk recorded some hieroglyphics from the temple and they realized they could drop enough Quaza through the temple back to Quatros' core. Furno succeeded and the planet was returned to normal. Following the breakout, Zib applied new Hero Cuffs to the Heroes and upgraded the Alpha Team, pitting Stormer against Speeda Demon, Stringer against Voltix, Bulk against Core Hunter, Furno against Jawblade, Breez against Thornraxx, Surge against Splitface, Evo against Toxic Reapa and Nex against XT4. However, Rocka mysteriously stayed behind for "security reasons", which made Zib suspicious. Zib then realized that none of the villains went into hiding after escaping, they all went into various schemes. He realized they were part of some co-ordinated, larger plan when Black Phantom broke in and revealed he had a plan to destroy Hero Factory. The mission managers were immobilized and Zib was forced to lie to Rocka, who was trapped in the Villain Storage Unit. Rocka got access to a restricted frequency and contacted Zib, and Zib revealed what had happened. He then directed Rocka to the override controls in Mr. Makuro's quarters and Rocka shut down the fail-safe shield. However, Zib was deactivated by Phantom's Anti-Quaza. After the mission, Rocka revealed he was an undercover agent from the Hero Recon Team and had been ordered to stay behind to keep an eye on the Black Hole Orb Staff. Zib then explained Phantom had sent the plans for the entire Hero Factory to an unknown location so Villains could have their own factory. Hero Factory FM Nathaniel Zib regularly takes part in Hero Factory FM broadcasts, giving his views on emergency calls that have been submitted. These calls include: *A caller reporting a monster appearing to attack his cat; however, Zib hypothesized that the monster was a Phelianian Gorgon, creatures who adore cats above all others. *A caller reporting the rampage of Snowflake, who has destroyed his house. *A caller reporting the rampage of a mutant panda called Panda-Monium. *A caller reporting that Von Nebula has smashed his house. *A caller reporting that a giant frog has stolen his football. *A caller reporting a six-armed, six-legged dragon creature attacking his school. *A caller reporting a cruel math teacher giving him too much homework. *A completely indecipherable message. *A caller reporting Hobo-Chincu eating everything in his refrigerator. *Multiple calls in which the caller is singing disturbingly off-key, for which Zib blames the evil Cowell. *A caller reporting a dinosaur-penguin-camel-tentacled monster, which went extinct long ago. (Prank Call) *A caller reporting monsters "scaring the living cows" out of him. (Prank Call) *A caller complaining about people trying to feed him broccoli. (Prank Call) *A caller reporting monsters growing out of his dirty socks. (Prank Call) Personality Zib holds a no-nonsense attitude, and is also a skilled strategist and problem solver, traits which are necessary for his job. Trivia *Nathaniel Zib was voiced by Henry Winkler in Rise of the Rookies, Ordeal of Fire and Savage Planet.